Building



June 16, 1964 E. ELIA ETAL 3,137,098

BUILDING Filed Sept. 3, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 (D IO WSW ATTORNEYS June 16, 1964 E. ELIA ETAL 3,137,098

BUILDING Filed Sept. 5, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 NRK INVENTORS EDWARD ELIA HERMAN R. RASCH ATTORNEYS June 16, 1964 E. ELIA ETAL BUILDING 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. .3, 1957 TFE-5- E- l lNvENTORs EDWARD EL|A HERMAN R. RASCH IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Erg.. 15..

ATTORNEYS June 16, 1964 E. ELIA ETAL BUILDING 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 3, 1957 IN VENTORS EDWARD ELIA HERMAN R. RASCH ATTORNEYS United States Patent Oii ice 3,137,098 Patented June 16, 1964 3,137,098 BUILDING Edward Elia, Detroit, and Herman R. Rasch, Lincoln Park, Mich., assignors to National Steel Corporation, a corporation of Delaware VFiled Sept. 3, 1957, Ser. No. 681,792

6 Claims. (Cl. 50-100) This invention relates to improvements in building constructions and more particularly to a novel building construction of the prefabricated type and to a novel method of erecting prefabricated buildings.

Prefabricated buildings constructed in accordance with the teachings of the prior art require foundations of the type used for fabricated buildings, such as footings formedof concrete or a concrete slab, including devices anchored in the footings or in the slab to which the column members of the building are attached. Construction of foundations of this type require the services of skilled personnel sincerthe devices anchored in the concrete footings or slab to which the column members are attached must necessarily lie in a common horizontal plane and must be accurately positioned, transversely and longitudinally, in accordance with the length of Prefabricated structural elements of the building, such as rafters, purlins and girts. Furthermore, prior Prefabricated buildings require the application of specialized techniques to effect their erection, such as welding operations, whichnecessitates the services of additional skilled personnel. The requirement of services of skilled personnel inconnection with the erection of prior prefabricated buildings increases the cost and time of erection and materially decreases the advantages presented by prefabricated construction.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a novel method of erecting prefabricated buildings.

Another object is to provide a novel prefabricated building construction that may be easily erected without requiring Vthe services of specialized personnel.

Another object is to provide a novel Prefabricated building construction which may be manufactured and erected at relatively low cost.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide Va novel prefabricated building having the foregoing advantages which may be constructed of any desired length and of dilferent widths.

The foregoing and other objects of the present invention are achieved in part by the provision` of a novel Column member made up of a plurality of elongated structural members adapted to be placed in overlying relationship, `s`uch as a telescoping relationship. The column member is adapted to be placed in a hole formed in the ground and retained therein by filling the hole with initially uid settable material, such as concrete. The novel column member is adjustable in length and therebyr eliminates the necessity of accurately forming foundations for the building construction, and includes novel features to provide a simple and economical way -of obtaining iixity of the column and thus carry the loads involved with the use of la minimum amount of metal. The novel building construction is designed to include a minimum number of parts of different dimensions, and the various parts may be interconnected without requiring the services of specialized personnel.

Other objects and features of the present invention will appear more fully from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which disclose 'one embodiment of the invention. alt is to be expressly understood however that the drawings are designed for purposes of illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference for the latter purpose being had to the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

FIGURE l is an end view, partially in section, of a building construction embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational View showing the building construction shown in FIGURE 1 in dierent phases of erection;

FIGURE 3 is a sideelevational view of the building construction shown in FIGURE 1';

FIGURE 4 is a view in section of a novel column construction provided by the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a view in section taken along the line 5 5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a detailed view, partly in section, showing novel construction features provided by the present invention;

FIGURE 7 is a View in section taken along the line 7-7 of FIGURE 6; Y 7

FIGURE 8 is a detailed view, partly in section, showing other structural features provided by the present invention; p

FIGURE 9 is a view, partially in section, of a further detail of the building construction provided by the present invention;

FIGURE 1"() is an isometric view of a novel element incorporated in the building construction shown in FIG- URE l, and

FIGURE 11 is an isometric view illustrating a detail of construction incorporated in the building shown in FIG- URE l.

With reference more particularly to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, a building construction embodying the principles ofthe present 'invention is shown therein including vertically disposed and transversely spaced column members and 11 located along opposite sides of the building. The building may include a plurality of pairs of column members 10 and 1'1 spaced longitudinally of the building to provide a buildingk construction of any desired length, as shown in FIGURE 3. Each pair of column members 10 and 11 supports a roof truss or a frame. The roof truss includes rafters 12 and 13 and a tie rod 14. The rafters 112 and 13 are connected at one of their ends to the upper ends of columns 10 and 11, respectively, and the rafters incline at an obtuse angle with respect to the longitudinal axis `of respective columns to determine the slope of the roof of the building. The other ends of the rafters are terminated in spaced relationship in the region of the ridge of the building andare joined together by a connecting member 15 secured tothe rafters and bridging the space between their adjacent ends. The manner in` which the rafters are joined to each other and to respective column members and the manner in which the tie rod 14 is connected to form a structural element of the roof truss will be described" in detail below. The rafters of the roof trusses supported by `each pair of column members 10 and 11 are interconnected by purlins 16 which extend longitudinally of the building. As shown in FIGURE l, an eave purlin is connected to the rafters in a region above the column members, a ridge purlin is connected. to the other ends of the rafters adjacent the connecting member 16 and intermediate purlins are connected to the rafters between the eaves and ridge purlins. The building may be provided with shed type extensions at either or both of its sides. The extension includes a plurality of vertically disposedV column members 17 longitudinally spaced along the length of Athe building in parallel relation with the plurality of column members- 11, for example, in transverse spaced relation with the` column members 11 and with each of the column members 17 lying in a common plane with a pair of column members and 11. The roof for the extension is formed by rafters 18 supported attheir inner ends by connecting members 19 and at their outer ends by column members 17. The rafters 18 are connected together. by longitudinally extending purlins 20, one of which comprises an eave purlin located above the column 17 and the other may comprise an intermediate purlin positioned betweenv the columns 11 and 17. Roofing for the building may comprise sheets of corrugated or channeled sheet metal secured to the purlins by means of sheet metal screws. A ridge roll 22 extends'longitudinally of the building and overlies the ends of the roof sheets along the ridge of the building. Longitudinally extending girts 23 are connected between adjacent columns 10 and between adjacent columns 17 to provide supports for siding 24 which may also comprise vertically disposed corrugated or channeled pieces of sheet metal. As shown in FIGURE 2, at the ends of the building auxiliary column members 25 may be provided as supporting means for the end walls as well as to form a doorway frame which may include a transverse member 26. Transverse girts 27 are connected between the column members 10, 11 and 17 and to the aum'liary column members 25 to support end wall sheets 28 such as corrugated or channeled pieces of sheet metal material. The sheets 28 forming the end walls have square ends and ashing 29 of sufficientV depth is provided to cover the stepped upper edgesl of adjacent end wall sheets.

As mentionedk above, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a novel building construction that may be easily erected without requiring construction of foundations or footings at a uniform elevation which materially increase the erection time and total cost of the building. This subject is accomplished at least in part by the provision of a novel column construction and novel manner of supporting the column structure in the ground. As shown in FIGURE 4, each'of the column members 10 and 11 such as one of the column members 11, comprises a composite structure including a first elongated structural member 30 and a second elongated structural member 31. The first elongated structural member includes a portion 32 extending downwardly from the surface 33 of the ground 34 into an opening 35 formed in the ground in any convenient manner. The first elongated structural member also includes a second portion 36 extending upwardly from the surface 33 of the ground. The second elongated structural member 31 includes a rst portion 37 in overlying relation with the second portion 36 of the first elongated structural member and a part of the portion 32 of the first elongated structural member, the portion 37 of the second elongated structural member extending downwardly beyond the surface 33 of the ground and terminating at a level substantially above the lower end of the portion 32 of the structural member 30. The second elongated structural member 31 also includes a second portion 38 which extends upwardly from the upper end of the portion 36 of the first elongated structural member'30 and terminates at the upper end of the column member 11. The column 11 may be permanently anchored in the ground by filling the opening with suitable initially iiuid settable material such as concrete 39. In cases where the ground formation is such that additional lateral stability is required in the region of the surface of the groundthe upper end of the opening 35 may be ared outwardly and filled with concrete as at 40.

The feature of providing column members made up of overlapping structural members provides a relatively simple and economical means to obtain fixity of columns, that is, to provide columnsthat do not rotate at the level of the ground about any axis and which permits development of adequate resisting moments due to horizontal loads, such as wind loads, while at the same time making it possible to obtain a plurality of columns at a predetermined uniform height without precisionally forming holes in the ground. Inasmuchas the column is subject to maximum bending moment due to horizontal loads in the section of the column at ground level and since the bending moment decreases in a direction towards the upper end of the column, it is advantageous from an economical viewpoint to decrease the metal in the column in accordance with the varying bending moment. In the construction shown in FIGURE 4, the plane of the surface of the ground passes through the overlapping region of the first and second structural members, and the overlapping region extends upwardly and downwardly with respect to the level 33 of the ground. Thus maximum metal is provided in the section where maximum bending moments exist. The structural member 30 extends a substantial distance upwardly beyond the surface of the ground and the structural member 31 extends downwardly below the ground level to permit both of the members to develop maximum stress. In Vthis type of column it is necessary that the metal in its section at the ground level and the metal in the section of the member 31 immediately above the upper end of the member 30 be suiicient to carry the bending moment stresses applied to the column at these sections. It has been determined that the requirements for these sections of the column may be achieved economically by the constructing the structural members of the column of different gauge material, and that optimum saving in metal may be obtained by forming the structural member 30 of lighter gauge material than the gauge of the materialused in fabricating the structural member 31 since the moment stress applied to the column decreases from the ground level downwardly.

According to anotherrfeature of the present invention, the first and second structural members 30 and 31 of the column are of a cross sectional shape and are relatively positioned so that the column possesses a closed section throughout the overlapping region of the structural members. This feature permits the column throughout the overlapping region of the first and second structural members to be filled with initially fluid settable material, such as concrete 42, which increases the strength of the column and prevents accumulation of moisture adjacent portions of the column below the surface of the ground. The filling of initially uid settable material not only adds strength to the column due to its own resistance to bending stresses but also increases the strength of the column by substantially preventing buckling of the sections and makes it possible to employ structural members formed from lighter gauge sheet metal. As shown in FIGURE 5, the first and second elongated structural members 30 and 31 may be of C-shaped section. The: member 30 includes a closed flange 45, side webs 46 and 47 having one of their longitudinal edges joined along opposite longitudinal edges of the closed flange 45, and inwardly facing free flanges 48 and 49 connected to the other longitudinal edges of the webs 46 and 47 and lying in a common plane parallel to the plane of the closed fiange 45. The member 31 may be of similar cross section including a closed flange 50, side webs 51 and 52 and coplanar free' anges 53 and 54. It is seen from FIGURE 5 that each of the structural members 30 and 31 includes a first planar portion lying in a plane extending transversely of the building and having spaced parallel longitudinal edges and second and third planar portions joined to opposite longitudinal edges of the first planar portion and extending laterally in the same direction from the plane of the first planar portion. In particular, the side Walls 46 and 47 of the member 30 comprise first planar portions extending transversely of the building and the closed flange 45 and the freeflange 48 comprise second and third planar portions joined to opposite longitudinal edges of the side web 46 while the closed flange the side web 47. Similarly, the side webs 51 and 52 of the member 31 comprise first planar portions which extend transversely of the building and the closed flange 50 and the respective free flanges 53 and 54 comprise second and third planar portions for the side webs 51 and 52. .The structural members may each b'e formed from a single piece of light gauge sheet metal, and in the embodiment illustrated the structural member 31 is formed of sheet metal of a gauge thicker than the gauge of the sheet metal forming the structural member 30. The structural member 31 is formed to telescope within the structural member 30, although the opposite relation could be provided if desired. In order to provide a closed section throughout the overlapping region of the structural members, the structural members are oppositely positioned with respect to each other with the closed flange of each section in contact with thefree anges of the other section. As seen from FIGURE 5, the filling 42 of concrete prevents inwardly buckling of the webs and fianges of the structural member 31 which in turn prevents failure by buckling of the structural member 30.

As will appear more fully below, in the erection of a building including columns of the type shown in FIG- URES 4 and 5, it is necessary to temporarily maintain the structural members 30 and 31 in predetermined overlapping relationship prior to permanently anchoring the structural members and forming a unitary structure by filling the opening defined by the closed section with initially iiui'd settable material. This may be accomplished by the provision of clamping means 60 which may comprise an inside plate 61 overlying the inside surfaces of the free lianges 53 and 54 of the structural member 31 and an outside plate 62 overlying the closed flange 45 of the structural member 30 with securing means, such as bolts 63 as shown, clamping the plates 61 and 62 together with the flanges 52, 53 and 45 sandwiched thereH between.

As shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, the upper end of each of the columns 11 is provided with a column cap 70 comprising an inverted U-shaped member including a at web portion 71 and side flanges 72 and 73 which extend downwardly and overlie the outside surfaces of the webs 51 and 52 of the column and are secured thereto by means of bolts 74, the column caps 70 being secured to the columns 11 with the at web 71 being inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the column at an obtuse angle corresponding to the angle 'of inclination o'f the roof` of the building. The rafter 13 comprises a composite structure including a pair of C-shaped channel members '7-5 and 76 connected together in back-to-back relation by means of bolts 77 which also join iianges 78 `and 79 of angle members 80 and 81 to the opposite sides of the C-shaped channel members. The longitudinal axis of the rafters 13 is parallel to the plane of the web portion 71 of the column caps 70 and the ljower flanges 82 and 83 of the C-shaped channel members 7,5' and 76, respectively, overlie the web 71 and are secured theretoby means of bolts 84 and 85. The flanges 86 and 87 of the angle -members '80 and 81 respectively, extend from yopposite sides of the rafter 13 in a substantially vcommon plane perpendicular to the longitudinal Vaxis of the rafter and are connected to the ends of the eave pur-V lins 16 'by-means of bolts 88 and 89. The purlins 16 may be of` Z-`shape section, and the lower flange of the eave purlins is connected to the column caps by means of the bolts 8S- As shown -in FIGURE 8 of the drawings, the column members are secured to the `rafters 12 by means of a similar-'construction including inverted U-sha'ped column caps 90 secured to the upper ends of the columns 10 by I means of bolts 91. The rafter 12, including `a pair of Q-shaped channel members in back-to-back relation, is secured to the column caps by means of bolts92 and 93 passing through the lower flanges of the C-shaped members. The C-shaped members of the rafter 12 are se- FIGURE 9 of the drawings.

cured together by bolts 94 which also join angle 'members 95 to the rafters, and the eave purlins 16 are connected to the angle members 95 by means of bolts 96 and to the column cap by bolts 92 which pass through thev lower flange of the eave purlins. lins intermediate the ridge purlins and the eave purlins are joined to respective rafters by bolted 4- connections with angle members secured to the rafters by means of bolts which also function to join the Q-shaped channel members of the rafters in back-to-back relationship. In particular, as shown in FIGURE 9, angle members are secured to the rafters 12 and 13 bymeans of bolts 101 passing through the webs of the C-shaped channel members and to the purlins by means of bolts 102.

The connection between pairs of rafters 12 and 13 in the region of the ridge `of the building is also shown in This connection is formed by a connecting member 15 which comprises a pair of C-shaped channel members .103 positioned on opposite sides of the web portions 104 and 105 of the rafters and secured thereto bymeans of bolts 106 and 107. The

O-shaped Achannel members are of a heavier gauge metal and have a width dimension less than the width of the rafters to permit the connecting member 15 to be joined to the rafters 12 and the rafters 13 by the use of at least four bolts. ,y

As shown in particular in FIGURES 8 and 10 of the drawings, the column caps 70 and 90 include a plate 110 which extends outwatrdly from the web 71 in coplanar relationship therewith, and thecolumn caps 70 and 90 are positioned on respective columns 11 and 10 with the extensions 110 directed toward the interior of thebuilding. The ends of each of the tie rods 14 are joined to the extension` plates 110 of column caps 70 and 90.; As shown in FIGURE 10, the end portion `of the tie rod extends in substantial overlying relation with the plate 110 vand is weldably secured thereto and lies in the plane of the web 71. With this construction, when column caps 70 and 90 are secured to the upper ends of a pair of columns 10 and 11 with the plane of the webs 71 inclined at an obtuse angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the columns, the ends of the tie rod will be bent downwardly as shown at 111 `in FIGURE 6, tending to bow the tie rod upwardly throughout its intermediate portion. This arrangement eliminates the need of hangers to support the tie rods at a medial point of its length and the building construction hasa more pleasant interior appearance.

The tie rods 14 comprise a necessary structural element of the building construction and the feature of weldably securing the ends of the tie rods to the column caps insures that the tie rods will be included in the building during the course `of its construction. t

As shown in FIGURE ll, the girts 23 and 27 may be attached to spaced columns, such as the column'l, by

means of angle brackets including a flange 121 secured to the column by attaching means such as bolts 1221and a flange 123 extending outwardly away from the column. The girts may comprise channel `members of `(t-shaped section including a web portion 124 and side vflanges 125, and the side flanges may be cut at points spaced from their ends to form tabs 126. The anges'12-3 have a width suchas to fit snugly between the flanges 125 and a length suflicient to provide a substantial overlap between the girts and the flanges 123, and the girts are secured to the 'columns by bending the tabs 126 downwardly and inwardly into close contact with the underside of the flanges 123. This type of connection not only simplifies erection of 'the buildingbut also permit variations in the spacing between adjacent columns while utilizing girts of uniform length. The rafters 18 of 'the shed extension may be secured to the columns 17 and to 'the eave purlins 20 in a manner similar tothe structure shown inFIGUjRE 8 f the. draw@ ings utilizing a column cap 130 to the colunfn` cap 70 but without an extension plateflltl. The liuterinediate purlins 20 'may be connected to adjacent rafters `18 in a The ridge purlins and the purmanner similar to the intermediate purlins 16 as shown in FIGURE 9. The connection between the inside end of the rafters 18 and the basic building is shown in FIG- URE Y6 of the drawings. The connecting member 19 comprises lianges 13-1 which extend outwardly in coplanar relation from the flange '78 of the angle member 80 and from the flange 79 yof the angle member -81 in overlying relation withv the opposite sides of the web of the rafter 18 and are secured thereto by means of bolts 132. The column members 17 extend below the surface of the ground into suitable openings 135 formed therein and the openings are filled with initially fluid settable material, such as concrete 136 surrounding and securely anchoring the lower ends of the column members. If additional stability is required adjacent the surface of the Vground the openings 135 may be flared outwardly, as shown, t0 provide a greater mass of concrete in the region of the surface of the ground.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, a pair of column members 10 and 11, and a column member 17 if the building is provided with an extension, are located at the ends of the building. The roof trusses supported by the column members at the ends of the building do not include rafters made up of a pair of C-shapedchannel members connected-in back-to-back relation as described above, but may merely comprise single C-shaped channel members. The single C-shaped channel members are connected t the column members and 11 by means of column caps 72 and 90 and to'the columns 17 by column caps 130, and are positioned with their flanges extending inwardly toward the interior of the building with the outer surface of their webs coplanar with the surface of the columns lying in the plane of the ends of the building. The connections are made with angle brackets and bolts in a manner described above, however, brackets are only located on the inside or flange side of the C-shaped channel members. y

In the construction of a building of the type disclosed herein and described above, the location of the building is selected and holes are drilled or otherwise formed in the ground at points corresponding to the location of the column members 10 and 11. It is not necessary that the depth of the holes is determined with precision but only that the holes have suicient depth to provide adequate stability for the building. The column members 1t) and 11 are then assembled with the elongated members 30 and 31 in telescoping relationship and are then inserted in the holes formed in the ground, the column members being retained in a modified upstanding position by the walls defining the holes. The lengths of the columns are then adjusted by moving one of the elongated members relative to the other so that the upper ends of all of the column members lie in a common horizontal plane irrespective of the depth of the holes in which they are inserted, and irrespective of any grade difference between the surfaces of the ground in the region of the holes. The required overlapping relationship between the elongated members 30 and 31 of each column member is maintained by the clamping devices 60. Individual roof trusses or frames comprising rafters 12 yand 13, tie rod 14 and connecting member 15, are assembled on the ground. This assembly is Aaccomplished by bolted connections with the column caps and purlin attaching brackets. The roof frames or trusses are then elevated and placed in position over a pair of columns 10`and 11 and are attached thereto by bolts securing the column caps to the respective columns. Upon the attachment of roof trusses to an adjacent pair of columns 10 and 11 the rafters are interconnected by purlins. After attaching a roof truss to the :next pair of column members V10 and 11, its rafters are .connected by purlins to the previously assembled truss and the process is continued until the frame for a buildfing of the desired length is erected. The columns are lthen plumbed, and the holes receiving the columns, as

well ,as the fopening defined by the closed section of theY column members throughout their overlapping regions, are filled with initially fiuid settable material such as concrete. The end wall framing and the side wall and end wall girts may then be attached and the roofing and siding secured in a conventional manner. Erection of the shed extension merely consists in forming suitable holes in the earth at the proper locations for receiving the column members 17 and by attaching with bolts one end of the rafters 18 to connecting members 19 and their other ends to the 'column members'l'! by column caps 130. The column members 17 are plumbed and anchored by filling the holes 135 withrconcrete for example.

As shown in FIGURE 8 of the drawings, the upper end of the side sheets 24 terminate adjacent the upper sides of the eave purlins 16. With this construction horizontal forces applied on the siding are transmitted to the upper portion of the purlins and into the roof structure and an increase in the stability of the building structure in the region of the purlins between adjacent columns is obtained. f

The feature of providing structural members 30 of the composite columns of lighter gauge material than the structural members 31 not only decreases the cost of the column members but also makes it possible to provide a more economical construction when an extension of the building is required. `The column members 17 are not subject to high moment stresses as the column members 1t) and 11 and may be constructed of lighter gauge material and in accordance with the principles of the present invention the column members 17 and the elongated structural members 30 ,of the column members 10 and 11 may be formed of the same gauge material. In addition, the members 17 and 30 may be of the same length to further reduce fabrication costs. It is also contemplated by the present invention to utilize C-shaped channel members of similar cross-section and length to form the rafters 12, 13 and 18 as well as the rafters at the ends of the building. rThe adjacent ends of the rafters 12 and 13 at the ridge lof the building are in spaced relation in order to provide a building in which the width of the extension is equal to one half the width of the main structure, that is the distance between the columns 10 and 11, while employingkC-shaped channel members of equal length to form the rafters 12, 13 and 18.

According to another embodiment of the present invention column cap members of a width substantially corresponding to the width of the column may be employed in place of the cap members including plate extensions as shown in FIGURE l0. In particular, the tension rod member 14 may overlie the underside of `the web 71 between the openings for the bolts 93 and be welded thereto and the plate extensions may be deleted. With this construction the columns 10 and 11 will be positioned with the longitudinal slots thereof defined by the spaced coplanar free flanges 53 and 54 disposed in face-to-face relation and the tension rod 14 will lie in the longtiudinalslots.V In constructions including columns without `slots or other tension rod receiving openings adjacent their upper ends it may be advantageous to employ column caps of the type shown in FIGURE l0 and thereby eliminate the problem of providing space for the ends of the tension rods.

Although one embodiment of the method and apparatus of the invention has been disclosed and described herein, it is to be expressly understood that various changes and substitutions may be made therein without departing from the Aspirit of the invention as Well understood` by those skilled inthe art. Reference therefore will he had to the appended claims as a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A lbuilding constructed above ground comprising a plurality of Vcolumns and longitudinal and transverse members joined to the upper ends of the columns,

the columns including composite columns adjustable heightwise throughout a range including a maximum height to locate the upper ends of the composite columns in a common horizontal plane for alignment with the longitudinal and transverse memcolumns comprise elongated hollow structural members, and in which the elongated hollow structural mem-- bers are in contiguous telescoping relationship throughout the overlapping region.

bers irrespective of differences in elevation of the 4. A building as defined in claim 1 in which the secground, ond structural member has an open cross-section defining the composite columns including a first elongated alongitudinal slot,

structural member and a second elongated structural in which the first and second structural members are member positioned in overlapping relation, relatively positioned to locate the longitudinal slot the first elongated structural member vincluding a lower 10 of the second structural members adjacent a wall portion extending below the surface of the ground portion of the first structural member to form a into an opening formed in the ground and an upper closed section at least throughout the overlapping portion extending upwardly above the surface of the regionV of the structural members, ground, and initially fiuid settable material filling the opening the second elongated structural member including a l5 in the ground and imbedding the portions of the lower portion extending below the surface of the column extending below the surface of the ground ground in overlapping relation with a part of the andV filling the space defined by the closed section lower portion of the first elongated structural member at least up to a point above the surface oftthe and an upper portion extending upwardly from the groundsurface of the ground in overlapping relation withV 5. A building as defined in claim 1 in which the first elongated structural memberand the second elongated structural member are ofA C-shaped cross-section and are the first elongated structural member in the common positioned in telescoping relationship with the section of `horizontal plane, Y one of the members in diametric relation with respect rigid connecting means in contact with the first elonto the section of the other member to form a closed gated structural member and in contact with the `section throughout the telescoping region of the strucsecond elongated structural ,member connecting tural members. throughout said range the first and second elongated 6. A building as defined in claim 5 including initially structural members to formaunitary columnar strucfluid settable material filling the space defined by the the upper portion of the first elongated structural member and terminating above the upper portion of ture, closed section at least up to a point above the surface of the upper portion of the rst elongated structural memthe ground.

ber being of a length at least equal to a critical length required for the first elongated structural member to develop maximum'stress,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS the lower portion of the second elongated structural 686,816 Macpha N0v 19 1901 member being of a length at least equal to a criti- 714,683 Ewen Dec 2: 1902 cal length required for the second elongated struc- 791,975 Auen june 6, 1905 tural member to develop maximum stress, 930,012 Woemer Aug, 3, 1909 the second elongated structural member being of a 986,134 Y Cauahan Mar 7 1911 length at least equal to the sum of the critical length 40 1,023,119 Barrick Apr, 16, 1912 t of its lower portion and the vertical distance between 1,258,408 H111 Mar, 5, 1918 the surface of the ground adjacent said opening and 1,258,409 H111 Mal- 5, 1918 the upper end of the composite column when ad- 1,617,762 Kiefer Feb, 15, 1927 justed to the maximum height of Said range, 1,857,489 Weitz May 10, 1932 and initially uid settable material filling the opening 4 2,058,135 @06,1116 CCL 20 1936 in the ground and imbedding the lower portion of 2,573,987 Sage N0V 6, 1951 the first elongated structural member. 2,639,789 Rosenberg May 26, 1953 2. A vbuilding as defined in claim l in which the first 2,909,253 Hinz@ Oct, 20, 1959 ndfsewnl egosatfedestrlucwral members 0f the Columns 56 3,061,978 Elia et a1 Nov. 6, 1962 reormeoseem and in which the sheet metal forming one of the struc- FOREIGN PATENTS tural members is of a gauge heavier than the sheet 472,542 France Dec. 9, 1914 Y metal forming the other structural member. 700,652 France Mar. 5, 1931 3. A building as defined in claim 1 in which the first 55 939,599 France Apr. 26, 1948 and second elongated structural members of each ofthe 1,052,508 France Sept. 23, 1953 

1. A BUILDING CONSTRUCTED ABOVE GROUND COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF COLUMNS AND LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE MEMBERS JOINED TO THE UPPER ENDS OF THE COLUMNS, THE COLUMNS INCLUDING COMPOSITE COLUMNS ADJUSTABLE HEIGHTWISE THROUGHOUT A RANGE INCLUDING A MAXIMUM HEIGHT TO LOCATE THE UPPER ENDS OF THE COMPOSITE COLUMNS IN A COMMON HORIZONTAL PLANE FOR ALIGNMENT WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE MEMBERS IRRESPECTIVE OF DIFFERENCES IN ELEVATION OF THE GROUND, THE COMPOSITE COLUMNS INCLUDING A FIRST ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER AND A SECOND ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER POSITIONED IN OVERLAPPING RELATION, THE FIRST ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER INCLUDING A LOWER PORTION EXTENDING BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND INTO AN OPENING FORMED IN THE GROUND AND AN UPPER PORTION EXTENDING UPWARDLY ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND, THE SECOND ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER INCLUDING A LOWER PORTION EXTENDING BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND IN OVERLAPPING RELATION WITH A PART OF THE LOWER PORTION OF THE FIRST ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER AND AN UPPER PORTION EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND IN OVERLAPPING RELATION WITH THE UPPER PORTION OF THE FIRST ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER AND TERMINATING ABOVE THE UPPER PORTION OF THE FIRST ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER IN THE COMMON HORIZONTAL PLANE, RIGID CONNECTING MEANS IN CONTACT WITH THE FIRST ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER AND IN CONTACT WITH THE SECOND ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER CONNECTING THROUGHOUT SAID RANGE THE FIRST AND SECOND ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBERS TO FORM A UNITARY COLUMNAR STRUCTURE, THE UPPER PORTION OF THE FIRST ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER BEING OF A LENGTH AT LEAST EQUAL TO A CRITICAL LENGTH REQUIRED FOR THE FIRST ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER TO DEVELOP MAXIMUM STRESS, THE LOWER PORTION OF THE SECOND ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER BEING OF A LENGTH AT LEAST EQUAL TO A CRITICAL LENGTH REQUIRED FOR THE SECOND ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER TO DEVELOP MAXIMUM STRESS, THE SECOND ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER BEING OF A LENGTH AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE SUM OF THE CRITICAL LENGTH OF ITS LOWER PORTION AND THE VERTICAL DISTANCE BETWEEN THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND ADJACENT SAID OPENING AND THE UPPER END OF THE COMPOSITE COLUMN WHEN ADJUSTED TO THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT OF SAID RANGE, AND INITIALLY FLUID SETTABLE MATERIAL FILLING THE OPENING IN THE GROUND AND IMBEDDING THE LOWER PORTION OF THE FIRST ELONGATED STRUCTURAL MEMBER. 